


Fuck Up Undone

by emeriin



Category: That Guy with the Glasses/Channel Awesome
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 18:26:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11697348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeriin/pseuds/emeriin
Summary: Monkeybone review was good and realistic, but hurt my soul, so I needed to have Critic making it up to the poor kids.





	Fuck Up Undone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sweet_witch_hella_knight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweet_witch_hella_knight/gifts).



After the confusion (and the indignance of why couldn't the parents find anyone else to babysit), came the guilt. Critic wasn't a good person, he knew that could never happen when his last chance to be was deemed a paradox, but he used to babysit kids far more annoying and less vulnerable than these two and not get punchy.

He had to swallow his pride, like so many other things, and make it up. Fuck knows when the parents were coming back.

The kids had gone into the other room and were playing (if you could call that playing, he never looked that sad while playing) with a hulk doll. The girl saw him first and her little face hardened. Not trusting him anymore. Right.

"Hey!" It came out shakier than intended, but the boy still flinched. "So that was pretty much shitty back there..."

The girl scowled. "You think?" She had more of a backbone than he did at that age. To be fair even her little sister was starting to grow one bigger.

Pushing down his temper flaring, he went for as bland as possible. "So your parents aren't going to be back for a while, do you want to do anything to make up for it?"

Both looked at him seeringly and he remembered their movie ideas. "That doesn't involve tearing body parts off me."

The boy visibly slumped but the girl was thinking. "Take us around town for shopping and ice cream," she said, in a voice that screamed having to be the adult one in the family. "Mama's trailer trash and I know from my big sister that you're rich."

He couldn't stop himself. "Who's your big sister? Some sort of teenage fangirl?"

The girl slowly grinned, delighted at the set-up. "You call her _Hyper_ Fangirl."

Thinking of Hyper wanting to torture him for just siding with her boyfriend so fuck knows the snuff fic that would happen to him if she found out he'd fucked with her younger siblings, he whirled around, voice high-pitched. "Right! Car! Coats would be good but don't feel obligated or anything!"

-

They ended up at a mall. He had tried to be good and steer Melody (he figured it'd be a less femme name, Alex or something) towards cosmetics and crop tops like a big girl, but she had always clammed up and pointed towards men clothing until he got it, both figuritively and literally. Cliff on the other hand wanted all the buzzing toys, and now both his wallet and arms were hurting.

By the time ice cream was happening, Cliff had warmed up to him, willing to share his portable chainsaw, but Melody was still, for a lack of a better word, cold. So after awkward silence, Cliff piped that he was going to the bathroom and left them to it.

This was the bit he was afraid of.

"So, uh, do you like all the flannel?" That didn't feel himself, but he was really trying.

Melody didn't look at him over her pink and blue popping candy sundae. "Yeah but you don't care."

"I mean if it makes you happy then…"

She saw right through it. "You don't care!" People were looking. "I looked up to you, Joan saw… something and Bee still likes you, but you're an asshole and I thought you would care and I feel so stupid and…" Her eyes were looking and she sat back, adjusting her cap to hide them.

He really wanted to run away, but this was public and not the studio and he had to look responsible. "Do you wanna know a secret?"

Her childhood curiousity peeked through the anger. "What?"

"One time, at kindergarten, I drew my parents ripping me to shreds. Teachers freaked out, mostly because I had a twin who was already scaring everyone, and that was the only time anyone was called. Mom was really angry after she got them to go away, there was a spatula involved, and I didn't complain so much that I started to love them. In thirties and still do."

Melody's face was way too furrowed for a child. "So that's a sob story? You were hurt and so we're allowed to get hurt too?"

His temper was rising but he needed to explain. "No! I'm just saying… I'm saying that I'm a mess. I love people who roofie me, I self destruct happy cos I need attention, and this self awareness will go away in a week and I'll have another moment of clarity in a month."

"Why are you telling a ten year old this?"

This wasn't the studio, don't walk around and soapbox. "cos if I can give you any apology, it's to not end up like me."

Her eyes searched his face for bullshit and she jutted her lip out. "I won't."

"Good."

"Still mad at you though."

"You'll do great."


End file.
